Grandmother Charged in Death of Infant from Prescription Cough Syrup Overdose

Florida detectives last week arrested a 53-year-old grandmother for the death of her 11-month-old grandson, who died more than a year ago of an overdose of an antihistamine.

Tibina Louissant was taken into custody in Broward County on Friday and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Prosecutors said that two baby bottles filled with a prescription cough syrup containing cyproheptadine were found in the home and that Josiah Fenelus was in good health when he was left with his grandmother but had swelling on the brain and bleeding on his scalp when taken to the hospital, WPLG reported.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said medical personnel were called to the scene in Oakland Park on August 21, 2022, and took Josiah to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

In October, autopsy results said that the little boy, who had been left in the care of Louissant for the weekend, had a lethal amount of cyproheptadine in his body. Toxicology tests this summer determined that that the two baby bottle tested positive for the powerful antihistamine, which is legally available only in a prescription but can be found in certain stores and online illegally without a prescription.

The medical examiner ruled the boy’s death a homicide by cyproheptadine toxicity.

Louissant told detectives she was the only person to prepare Josiah’s bottles when he was in her care.

Cyproheptadine is not related to ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic that works against bacterial infecions.

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